On January 3^rd in Washington, D.C., I was sworn in to represent you and some 700,000 of our fellow citizens of Hawaii’s First Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The great First District stretches from Makapu’u Point through East and Central Honolulu, to Pearl City and up to Mililani, and down through Waipahu, Ewa, Kapolei and Ko Olina to Kahe Point. Though it is mainly urban and suburban Honolulu, it is closely connected to the rest of O’ahu and Hawai’i and so my responsibilities in Congress extend throughout our home.

My mission as your U.S. Congressman is to (1) contribute to national leadership for our country and world, (2) assure that Hawaii’s needs are addressed by our federal government, and (3) assist you with your individual concerns.

These all require that I stay in close contact with you, keep you informed on my thoughts and activities, and listen to your views and concerns wherever and however I can. This newsletter updates you on my first weeks in office, lets you know how to contact me and stay up to date on my activities as your Congressman, and asks for your input.

Most important, please sign up for my regular e-newsletter at case.house.gov/contact.

ENDING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

My efforts since January 3^rd have been focused on ending our longest government shutdown and assisting all those impacted. My staff and I met with our hardworking federal employees and contractors both in DC and back home and worked with them to get them whatever aid we could. Back in Congress I voted twelve times to reopen government and with my colleagues urged a solution under which once government reopened we would undertake a full bipartisan deliberation and vote on border security. The short-term reopening to February 15^th follows our recommendation and I am hopeful we will use the period to agree on modern, effective, realistic and humane border security. But the bottom line is that this shutdown should never have happened to start with and that we must not hold our federal employees and contractors and all others who depend on our federal government hostage to this or any other policy disagreement. It remains to be seen whether this hard lesson has been learned.

SECURING VALUED COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS

Most of the work of Congress is done through our committees and so my focus since January 3^rd has also been on securing appointments to House committees of particular importance to Hawai’i and our country.

I was deeply honored to be appointed to the House Committee on Appropriations. This committee, the oldest in the House, is one of the most powerful and coveted as it is responsible for all federal discretionary spending. Like other committees, this committee does much of its work in subcommittees, and my subcommittee assignments provide me extra ability to work on military, veterans, tourism, environment, science and other areas of special interest to Hawai’i. It has been almost three decades since Hawai’i had a seat on House Appropriations, and I am especially looking forward to partnering with Senator Schatz, who sits on the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

I was also very pleased to be appointed to the House Committee on Natural Resources. This committee has broad jurisdiction over our public lands and waters, as well as critical environmental protection, Native American and territorial programs. I’m especially looking forward to focusing through Natural Resources on Native Hawaiian issues as well as national oceans policy.  

RETURNING GOVERNMENT TO THE PEOPLE

I was driven to return to Congress by my membership in the ReFormers Caucus, a national bipartisan organization of former Members of Congress, Governors and Cabinet members who believe that our government is broken, that most citizens are excluded, and that the root cause is unregulated, unlimited, undisclosed special interest money washing through politics. No other single issue enjoys such widespread agreement across Americans of all parties and beliefs. I was therefore very proud to have co-introduced the very first piece of legislation placed before this Congress. H.R. 1, the For the People Act, is a sweeping proposal that takes dead aim at many of the contributors to this broken system so that our democracy truly works for all citizens and not the monied few. My first speech before Congress was in support of H.R. 1, and my colleagues and I are committed to seeing these reforms through.

WORKING FOR YOU IN HAWAI’I

Though much of my time and effort as your Congressman is spent in Congress and through my full office and staff on Capitol Hill, I also have set up a full district office and staff in downtown Honolulu. When I’m not home, my staff serve as my eyes and ears in your communities, enabling me to maintain direct contact throughout the First and especially to assist you with your individual concerns. In my first weeks in office, for example, they have (1) begun regular appearances at the many Neighborhood Boards throughout my district, (2) hosted constituents at my office to discuss concerns and provide assistance, and (3) answered telephone calls on a broad range of office services including visits to DC. Please feel free to contact my district office with any questions or needs.

VISITING MY WEBSITE AND ASKING FOR YOUR INPUT

Please visit my official Congressional website for much more information on my office and activities and the resources available to you. As we are still starting up, I especially welcome your comments on any improvements you believe we can make.

I also ask for your input, guidance and questions on any of the issues we are facing or that you believe we should address in Congress. The easiest way to do so is through my website here. You can also use my website to request any other services of my office. Or, feel free to just call or write my DC or Honolulu offices. My goal is to maintain the best possible communication with you in whatever way works best for you.

COMING UP

Though my staff and I have met our goals for my first month as your Congressman, we have a very full agenda for the next few months as the pace in my committees, the full U.S. House and back home picks up even more. I will continue to update you through further e-newsletters and otherwise, and will be hosting Talk Story with Congressman Ed Case community meetings throughout my district to meet with you personally. I will also always welcome the opportunity to meet with you in DC or back home and to join your events as and when I can.

Again, please sign up for my regular e-newsletter at case.house.gov/contact. I’m deeply honored to represent you in the U.S. House of Representatives and truly look forward to working with you on behalf of our Hawai’i and country.